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Koito Taizan was born Nagakura Saburo in 1911 and died in 1997. The Koito-yaki kiln was one of old kilns in Japan, and first opened in the Edo period, Kanei era(1624-1643). Before the war, Koito Taizan returned to his hometown after an apprenticeship in Seto, in order to establish himself as a potter, and reconstruct the kiln of his forefathers.

He asked Kyuzo Murata of Kyuka En in Omiya Village, his cousin, for assistance and guidance in reconstructing the Koito kiln, and completed the task in 1946. If you’re not familiar with the name, Murata was a famous bonsai artist, and Koito Taizan began making small bonsai containers commissioned by Kyukaen. In 1949 the first stage firing of 200 small bonsai pots was completed. The containers fascinated enthusiasts from the start with their whimsy and charming decorations. Shortly after winning the coveted Fine Arts Exhibition prize, Koito Taizan was forced…

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Well, perhaps not new beginnings as the Munster Bonsai Club will reach it’s 2nd birthday in a few months time, but our visit to Bunratty and Bud Garden Centre was certainly the start of something good. Ray, the co-owner of the Garden Centre is one of the original Club members and has been a keen supporter of all their efforts to drive bonsai forward in Munster. We suggested that Bud Garden Centre, newly opened in March, might be a good location for a workshop, helping to spread the club over the whole Province so at not to become Cork-centric. Ray embraced the idea and Saturday saw us deliver a successful workshop in Bunratty not just to the regulars, but also three new faces. Great to see Steven, Lottie and Harry joining in for the first time. It was a busy session with lots of trees and we also had the public…

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So with my job being quite demanding time wise and with the birth of the newest addition to our family Maria, I have found it difficult the past while to get into a proper routine with my trees. But yesterday my son and I decided to go and give my trees a bit of TLC. So when I went investigating some of the wire on one or two of the trees Noah decided to jump right in and grab the watering can.

After getting stuck in and getting more wet than the trees themselves we decided a smaller can would probably be more appropriate.

And there we have it, now my little man is looking after my trees when im at work. Now my wife will have to listen to the two of us wanting to water the trees. Well done small man.

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The Portland Bonsai Village has just launched an Indiegogo campaign to help raise funds for our new programs. If you don’t know about Indiegogo, it’s like the alternative, quirky version of Kickstarter. The Village has always been a grassroots endeavor, and today we’re seeking your support to grow our grassy shoots a wee bit higher.

We’re creating the first bonsai community outside of Japan where I live in Portland, Oregon to better share bonsai to the greater community, with programs that stretch from Village bonsai classes for serious aficionados, to a CO-OP offering bonsai products made here, to bringing bonsai into classrooms to nurture the seed of beauty and responsibility in youth. And this campaign is the beginning of that dream.

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Kora Dalager and I are back in Japan showing ten people the best of the Japanese bonsai world and the Taikan Bonsai Exhibition in Kyoto this coming weekend. We have tour members from California, Texas, Virginia, Pennsylvania New York, and Switzerland.

We had a beautiful, bright sunny day in the Tokyo area. Not a cloud in the sky which made photographing a bit difficult. BUT, it looks like I skipped town at the right time. When I left home, all my nursery stock, pre-bonsai and sales bonsai were put away for winter. Only 98 of my best trees were outside, and still are, even though Diane offered to move them in the garage. Buffalo, New York has received 50 inches of snow and are expecting ANOTHER 2-3 feet of snow now in the second wave of weather. It missed Rochester, this time, who know about…

On Watering Bonsai

"Pruning a tree badly is no more serious than getting a bad haircut, it always grows back. But when you pick up the watering can, you hold in your hands the power of life or death."
The late Zeko Nakamura